The Material and Spiritual Self

• Material self


  (According to William James) pertains to the objects, places, or even people which have the label "mine"
• Material self


  • Possessions are viewed as extensions of individuals' identities
  • Body is the innermost aspect
  • Clothing protects and projects the body
  • Family is connected by blood and shared glory/shame
  • Home is where life is developed and identity is linked
• Most material things we possess are not things we need
• What we have in our lives can tell other people who we really are
• Needs


  Things we cannot live without (food, shelter, clothing, water, air, medical care, sex)
• Wants


  Things we like but are not necessarily needs (new cellphone, car, jewelry)
• Body


  • Innermost part of material self
  • We invest in it and it directly affects us
  • Some body parts are more intimately valued
• Clothes


  • Essential part of material self
  • Reflect our self-expression and affect our attitudes/behavior
• Immediate family


  • Hold an important part of our self
  • Their successes/failures affect us
  • We have a voluntary instinct to help them
• Home


  • Earliest nest of our selfhood
  • Experiences recorded and connected to our self
• Spiritual self


  (according to William James) the most intimate, inner subjective part of self
• Spiritual self


  • Satisfaction from moral sensibility, conscience, and unconquerable will
  • Manifested through religion, beliefs, practices, cultural rituals
• Soul and spirit


  Often interpreted to mean the same thing, but can have differences
• The Bible makes many references to both soul and spirit
• Religion


  Belief in anthropomorphic supernatural beings, focus on the sacred supernatural, belief in supernatural power/energy
• Religion


  • Involves ritual activities, articulation of worldviews and moral codes, provides social bonds and explanations for the unknown
• Ritual


  The performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or sacred law
• Ritual


  • Involves feeling of respect, awe, fascination or dread towards the sacred
  • Depends on a belief system expressed in myth
  • Is symbolic in relation to its reference
• The self can be described as a ritual being who exhibits parallels between ritual and verbal behavior
• Major world religions


  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
• Buddhism


  • Believes life involves suffering, pain, and frustrations
  • Aims to break the reactive cycle through meditation, wisdom, and acceptance
• Buddhist meditation practices


  1. Samatha (mindfulness of breathing, loving-kindness)

  2. Vipassana (developing insight into reality)
• Rituals


  Symbolic acts based upon arbitrary rules, expressions of religious beliefs
• Some major world religions

  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
• Buddhists believe in the non-violence principle
• Major Buddhist celebrations


  • Parinirvana Day
  • Buddha Day (Wesak)
  • Dharma Day
  • Padmasambhava Day
  • Sangha Day
• Major Hindu festivals


  • Diwali
  • Navrati
• Islamic practices


  • Hajj
  • Sawm
  • Salat
  • Zakat
  • Shahadah
• Major Islamic festivals


  • Eidul-Fitr
  • Eidul-Adha
• Major Jewish festivals


  • Rosh Hashanah
  • Yom Kippur
  • Pesach
  • Shavuot
  • Sukkot
• The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday evening at sunset and is an important time when families gather for the Shabbat meal
• Logotherapy


  A psychotherapy introduced by Dr. Viktor Frankl, based on the belief that man's primary motivational force is the search for meaning
• Assumptions of Logotherapy


  • The human being is an entity consisting of body, mind, and spirit
  • Life has meaning under all circumstances
  • People have a will to meaning as their main motivation for living
  • People have freedom under all circumstances to activate the will to find meaning
  • Life has a demand quality to which people must respond if decisions are to be meaningful
  • The individual is unique
• Sources of meaning in Logotherapy


  • Purposeful work
  • Courage in the face of difficulty
  • Love
• Material self


  The innermost aspect of the self, identified as the body
• Body parts


  • Some are perceived as more private or intimately yours compared to others
• Clothing


  Garments that protect and project the body
• Family


  Connected by blood, sharing glory and shame
• Home


  Where many aspects of life have been developed, where you feel most comfortable, greatly linked to identity
• Other possessions


  • Gadgets
  • Cars
  • Collections